David
Lederfine will be at the Dragon tonight, pouring four of his current Awesome Ales. Lederfine's is a familiar name in Oregon brewing, from his days as
co-owner and brewer at the Snake & Weasel pub, and as a brewer at
McMenamins, Astoria Brewing, Oregon Trail and Three Creeks Brewing in
Sisters. Now he's making and selling Awesome Ales as what he calls a
tenant brewer --- he works with a brewery in Silverton that brews and
packages his beers to his specification.

“I have complete
artisitc control, Lederfine say. “The recipes are mine and I'm there
every brew day to control the temperature and viscosity of the mash and
all other details. As the beer ferments and I'm out selling to accounts,
they give gravity and temperature readings so I know ho the beer is
coming along.”

Judging from the beers he has available --- our old
friend from Snake & Weasel days, Spikedriver Strong Ale; The 4:19
</cq>, a bright, citrus-y IPA; and Southern Sky a French Pale Ale (
our Biere de Oregon, Lederfine says...the marriage of a biere de garde
and a Bohemian pilsner with Oregon sensibilities) , the system works
beautifully. Since starting in November, Awesome has producfed about 200
kegs of beer and Lederfine hopes to brew 800 – 1,000 barrels in 2014
--- as many as 2,000 kegs.

Tenant brewing could become more
widespread because it makes sense in a number of ways. It allows
Lederfine to start brewing for a far smaller investment than building an
entire new brewery, though he has plans to do that in a few years. It
also provides money for the brewery whose equipment would otherwise sit
idle. Too, it piggybacks on existing services already required by the
brewery: hop and malt deliveries, hot water and the like. “It's really a
green process,” says Lederfine, “a great way to reduce carbon footprint
while utilizing excess capacity.”

Lederfine hopes to build what
he calls a farm brewery in a few years, but he also wants to open a
Portland tasting room perhaps in summer of 2014. The tasting room would
include a small brewery for doing pilot batches and one-off beers, and
would likely incorporate music and art events. “It'd start where the
Snake & Weasel left off,” Lederfine says, “I love using beer to
build community --- as a catalyst for other cool stuff.

RAMBLE ON IPA RELEASE PARTY

6 p.m. Thursday, Concordia Ale House, 3276 N.E. Killingsworth St.;

Theirs go to 11: Lompoc releases Ramble On IPA, the 11th (!) and last of their Classic Rock series of IPAs.

BREAKSIDE SALTED CARAMEL STOUT BOTTLE RELEASE PARTY

5-8 p.m. Thursday, Belmont Station, 4500 S.E. Stark St.;

Breakside Brewmaster Ben Edmunds and brewers will be on hand as we pour the first sips of this year's Salted Caramel Stout in the biercafe. They'll also will be pouring Breakside's Oude Noire Black Saison with Orange Peel as the perfect complement. And the popular Wanderlust IPA will also be on tap for those needing a hop fix. In the bottle shop, brewer Will Jaquiss will be pouring tastes of the full line of Breakside's bottled beers. Join the Breakside Brewery team to celebrate the release of Salted Caramel Stout in 22- ounce bottles. Wanderlust IPA and Oude Noir will join Salted Caramel Stout on tap for the event and brewers will be pouring free samples from all of Breakside's current bottled beers. About Salted Caramel Stout: A collaboration with Salt & Straw Ice Cream, Salted Caramel Stout has been one of the Station's most popular draft seasonal brews now for the first time available in bottles. 6.7% ABV, 28 IBU, special ingredients: salted caramelÍ¾ sea salt

At Bazi's second annual seminar, participants will learn about gluten-free beverage options, choose between a beer or cider / food pairing option and experience some of the world’s top ranked gluten-free beverages and walk away with recipes, resources, and a souvenir Green’s beer glass.